Alicia Alonso, who overcame near blindness to become ballet legend, dies in Havana at 98
Alicia Alonso, one of the most important figures in the history of ballet, passed away on October 17 in Havana at the age of 98. The charismatic ballerina overcame near-blindness to become an influential figure and national icon in her home country of Cuba, founding what would one day become the National Ballet of Cuba with the support of Fidel Castro.
Alonso, who continued to dance into her 70s, was an admired star of American Ballet Theater and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez y del Hoyo was born in Havana and her birth date, which is somewhat disputed, is now widely acknowledged as December 21, 1920. She was born to Antonio Martínez, an officer in the Cuban Army, and Ernestina Hoya as the youngest of four children.
Alonso studied dance as a child and though she was not encouraged to pursue a professional career, she would eventually devote her life to the art after she married Fernando Alonso in 1937 and eloped with him to New York.
With her husband, she founded the Ballet Alicia Alonso in 1948 and two years later, they set up the Alicia Alonso Academy of Ballet. Unfortunately, both the troupe and the school were forced to shut down in 1956 due to financial difficulties. Despite the setback, Alonso continued to dance and the very next year, she made a historic guest appearance in the Soviet Union.
When Castro’s government rose to power in 1959, Alonso's company was revived. Castro began funneling an estimated $200,000 to the Alonso troupe, which was renamed the National Ballet of Cuba, as part of an initiative to make the arts accessible to all in Cuba. Alonso eventually became a Cuban icon, an internationally acclaimed dancer with her portrait on postage stamps.
The New York Times reports that in 1942 she suffered a detached retina that required three corrective surgeries. She spent nearly a year in recovery, forbidden to laugh, cry or even move her head.
Despite her illness, Alonso had teachers come to her bedside to coach her for her performance in 'Giselle'. Though she eventually returned to the stage, she never fully recovered the use of her eyes and had to undergo multiple surgeries long after that initial period of illness.
“I can accept my blindness,” she famously said in 1971. “I don’t want my audience thinking that if I dance badly, it is because of my eyes. Or if I dance well, it is in spite of them. This is not how an artist should be.”
Alonso's final performance came in 1995 when she danced a piece she herself had choreographed called 'The Butterfly'. She is survived by her daughter Laura Alonso.